PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers, along with JuJu Smith-Schuster, a broad beneficiary, made a donation to former linebacker Ryan Shazier’s Spine Rehabilitation Fund.
Shazier, who retired in 2020, played his last game on December 4, 2017 when he sustained a spine injury against the Cincinnati Bengals. In November 2020, Shazier decided to use his experience to help others in similar situations and set up his fund.
“For the spinal cord, you usually only get 30 rehab sessions. It’s like teaching your child to walk in 30 sessions. It’s almost impossible,” Shazier said. “We are just trying to give people more rehab, opportunities and a meaningful lifestyle. Everyone will not leave, but rather give them the opportunity to return to a kind of independence. This is what my foundation is about, giving people support for independence, let them do things by themselves and only give them the opportunity to receive support. “
Smith-Schuster donated $ 5,000 to Shazier’s Fund. The Steelers then agreed with the donation and donated a total of $ 10,000.
“I’m really grateful for that,” Shazier said to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “It means a lot. It shows you the relationships you’ve built while playing with guys from different backgrounds and parts of the world who really mean something. They have relationships that go beyond football.
“That doesn’t just mean a lot to mean it personally, though. It means a lot because it will help so many people who are going through the same things I’ve been through. JuJu got a firsthand experience of what I went through and when we went through played together. It’s amazing to have someone like this, someone who was a teammate who not only supports me but supports others too. “
Noah Strackbein is a publisher at AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
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